- Abbreviations: saying the initial letters of the words in a taboo expression
- e.g. FU, MF, SOB, KYS, WTF, OMG, F-ing, A-hole
- Acronyms: the initial letters of the words in a taboo phrase are used to create a new pronounceable word
- e.g. MILF, PITA pain in the ass, SNAFU situation normal all fucked up, FUBAR fucked up beyond all recognition
- Clipping/omission: omit one or more sounds or words of a dysphemism
- e.g. jeez, gaw, fuh, son of a…, what the…
- Grawlixes
- In print, replacing letters with dashes or other typographical
- Mutation: replace one or more sounds of a dysphemism, making a nonsense word
- e.g. cripes, criminy, gosh, golly, friggin
- Rhyming slang
- e.g. witch, son of a gun, ruddy (bloody), Sacre bleu! (Sacre Dieu!)
- Word adaptation: an existing word (often one that sounds similar) is used in place of the dysphemism
- Loanwords: replace dysphemism with a word from another language
- Implications: suggests an if…then statement (the dysphemism may either be the if or the then statement)
- e.g. they slept together, go to the bathroom, spends a lot of time alone in his room, I heard he’s not the marrying kind
- Circumlocutions: the use of extra words to describe a dysphemism/concept without actually saying the word
- e.g. empty your bowels, void your bladder, rectal aperture, colloquial term for turd
- Particularization/metonym: a general/related term is used to replace a more specific dysphemism
- e.g. it, thing, chest, backside, down there, the groin, touching herself
- Metaphors: when an expression is used to refer to a dysphemism due to perceived similarity between them
- e.g. beaver, pussy, clam, taco, muffin, cookie, box, sheath, sausage, salami, weiner, snake, rod, staff, stick, sword, pipe, boner
- Fauxphemism: when innocent constructions are assembled (usually intentionally) in such a way to bring dysphemisms to mind
- e.g. Ulysses, Shakespeare
- For deniability, getting around censor
- Get attention in advertising
- Humor